The2023 season was theNew York Jets' 54th season in theNational Football League (NFL), their 64th overall, their fifth undergeneral managerJoe Douglas and their third and final full season underhead coachRobert Saleh. The season, which was entered withSuper Bowl aspirations, was a major disappointment for the team, finishing at 7–10 for the second consecutive season, and matching their record from 2022. It was also the Jets' fourth consecutive season with at least ten losses.
With the acquisition of quarterbackAaron Rodgers in an offseason trade with theGreen Bay Packers, expectations were high. However, the season was marred by a series of key injuries, most notably Rodgers suffering a season-endingtorn Achilles tendon just four snaps into Week 1. The team struggled with inconsistent quarterback play fromZach Wilson andTim Boyle throughout the season. Despite starting 4–3, which included their first-ever win against thePhiladelphia Eagles after 12 previous losses, the Jets went on a five-game losing streak. They finished the season with a 7–10 record after going 3–2 in their final five games. As a result, the Jets missed the playoffs for the thirteenth consecutive season, extending the longest active postseason drought in the NFL. It was also their eighth consecutive season finishing below .500. The team's preseason was featured on theHBO documentary seriesHard Knocks.
The New York Jets drew an average home attendance of 77,890 in 9 home games in the 2023 NFL season.[1]
^abcdeThe Jets traded first-, second- and sixth-round selections (13th, 42nd and 207th overall), and a conditional 2024 second-round selection (that would have become a first-round selection if Rodgers played in 65% of the snaps in 2023, but it was not met) to the Green Bay Packers in exchange for first- and fifth-round selections (15th and 170th overall), and QBAaron Rodgers.[2]
^abThe Jets traded a third-round selection (74th overall) and WRElijah Moore to the Cleveland Browns in exchange for a second-round selection (42nd overall).[3]
^abcThe Jets traded a fourth-round selection (112th overall) to the New England Patriots in exchange for fourth- and sixth-round selections (120th and 184th overall).[4]
^abcThe Jets traded a fifth-round selection (170th overall) to the Las Vegas Raiders in exchange for sixth- and seventh-round selections (204th and 220th overall).
^The Jets traded a sixth-round selection (185th overall) to the Jacksonville Jaguars in exchange for RBJames Robinson.[5]
^The Jets traded LBBlake Cashman to the Houston Texans in exchange for a sixth-round selection (207th overall).[6]
^The Jets traded a seventh-round selection (230th overall) and NTSteve McLendon to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in exchange for a 2022 sixth-round selection.[7]
The Jets became the second NFL team to play ten regular season games in their home stadium, nine home games as an AFC team in an odd-numbered year plus an away game against the Giants, who share their stadium with the Jets. The first such team was theLos Angeles Rams, who played ten gamesthe previous season atSoFi Stadium under similar circumstances.[citation needed]
Just hours before kickoff, there washeavy rain andsevere thunderstorm warnings around theMeadowlands. As a result, media coverage and personnel were not permitted to step on the field.[8] It was rumored that the game would have been delayed, or postponed given the severity of the weather warnings. The game, nevertheless, ended up being played on time.
New quarterbackAaron Rodgers was injured and carted off the field after being sacked by Bills edge rusherLeonard Floyd on just his fourth snap, and Buffalo attained a 13–3 halftime lead.[9] However, a strong performance by the Jets defense, which forced Bills quarterbackJosh Allen to turn the ball over four times, allowed the Jets offense, now led by backupZach Wilson, to have short fields and take the lead after thetwo-minute warning, though Allen and the Bills forced overtime with a late field goal. The Jets won off a punt return touchdown byXavier Gipson after the Bills went three-and-out on the opening possession of the extra period.[10]
With the win, New York opened the season at 1–0, though the victory was marred by Rodgers' injury, which was revealed to be aruptured Achilles tendon, ending his season.[11] Head coach Robert Saleh named Wilson the starting quarterback for the remainder of the season.[12]
The game broke the record for the most-watched NFL game in ESPN's history, though that was later overtaken by thePhiladelphia Eagles–Kansas City Chiefs game on November 20.[13]
The Cowboys opened the game with a long 12-play touchdown drive, ending with Dallas quarterbackDak Prescott's first touchdown pass of the 2023 season to tight endJake Ferguson. Dallas later added to their lead with a 13-play, 75-yard field goal drive in the 2nd quarter. After the teams traded punts, the New York Jets fought back with a quick 68-yard touchdown pass from quarterbackZach Wilson to standout wide receiverGarrett Wilson. Dallas quickly responded with a long touchdown drive of their own, which was capped off with a short Dak Prescott touchdown pass to tight endLuke Schoonmaker. The Jets replied with a field goal from backup kickerAustin Seibert to keep the score within one possession at the end of the half.
The third quarter, however, would prove to be the turning point in the game as the Jets were only able to muster a measly 68 yards of offense in the second half while also giving up a fumble and three interceptions. On the other hand, the Dallas Cowboys were able to produce four field goal drives to end the game with a 30–10 victory.[14]
This was the first time the Cowboys defeated the New York Jets since2007[15] and is also the first time the New York Jets defense has given up 30 or more points since Week 2 of the2022 NFL Season.[16]
The loss to theirdivision rival was the team's 15th straight against them. The Jets fell to 1–2 as a result. The Jets last beat the Patriots in Week 16 of the2015 NFL season.[17]
In New York's firstSunday Night Football appearance in12 years,[18] the Jets overcame a 17–0 first quarter deficit, tying the game at 20 in the third quarter and limiting reigning Super Bowl MVPPatrick Mahomes to a 63.6 passer rating. However, the Chiefs regained the lead late, and a crucial fumble from Zach Wilson, who otherwise had one of the best performances in his career, allowed Kansas City to close out the game.[19]
The Jets returned home to face the undefeated Philadelphia Eagles, whom they had an 0–12 lifetime record against. After facing a 14–3 deficit in the second quarter, the Jets managed to silence Philadelphia's offense the remainder of the way, and simultaneously chip away at the deficit, pulling within two points by the third quarter. Right after the two minute warning,Tony Adams interceptedJalen Hurts — the third interception forced by the Jets defense — and returned the ball 45 yards to set New York up inside the Eagles' 10 yard line. On the very next play,Breece Hall scored the go-ahead touchdown for the Jets. The defense then made one final stop on the ensuing Philadelphia drive to preserve the Jets' upset win. With this win, their first ever in thirteen meetings with the Eagles, the Jets improved to 3–3.[21]
Despite the Giants leading 10–7 and the Jets having no timeouts remaining, a missed field goal fromGraham Gano with 24 seconds left set the Jets up on a game tying drive, withZach Wilson throwing two 29-yard passes to set up the game tying field goal. In overtime, the Jets forced the Giants to punt before the Jets kicked a game winning field goal in overtime to improve to 4–3.[22]
The Jets scored their first touchdown in 13 quarters of gameplay dating back to their win over the Giants. However, the team otherwise struggled on offense, netting just 155 total yards and turning the ball over three times, leading to Zach Wilson being benched forTim Boyle in the third quarter. In addition, Buffalo, which had just fired offensive coordinatorKen Dorsey the week before, performed much more effectively on offense as compared to week 1, putting up the most points allowed by the Jets defense at this point of the season and surrendering just one turnover on a Hail Mary attempt at the end of the first half. Notably, the Bills scored 10 points off Jets turnovers, with their first field goal coming off a fumbled opening kickoff return fromXavier Gipson, who had scored the game-winning punt return touchdown in week 1.[23] New York fell to 4–6 with the blowout loss to the Bills.
The New York Jets matched up with the Miami Dolphins for the first ever NFL game played onBlack Friday. With Tim Boyle starting at quarterback, the Jets' offensive struggles continued as Miami cruised to a 34–13 victory despite New York's defense interceptingTua Tagovailoa twice, including once for a pick-six. Notably, after Tagovailoa's second interception, the Jets had a chance to take the lead going into halftime, but Boyle'sHail Mary pass attempt was intercepted by Dolphins safetyJevon Holland, who returned the pass 99 yards for a touchdown to add insult to injury.[24] The embarrassing play, which some fans later nicknamed the "Hell Mary", happened nearly 11 years to the date of theButt Fumble, which also took place around the Thanksgiving holiday.[25]
While the Jets took an early 2–0 lead due to a safety, the Falcons quickly scored a touchdown to make it 7–2 and never gave up the lead from there.[26] Despite only allowing 194 yards to the Falcons, the Jets were held to 8 points in the loss. With the loss, the Jets were eliminated from AFC East contention.[citation needed]
WAS – Chris Rodriguez Jr. – 10 rushes, 58 yards, 2 TD
NYJ – Breece Hall – 20 rushes, 95 yards, 2 TD
Top receivers
WAS – Logan Thomas – 5 receptions, 36 yards, TD
NYJ – Breece Hall – 12 receptions, 96 yards
Although the Jets raced out to a 27–7 lead, the Commanders scored 21 unanswered points to take a 28–27 lead. However,Greg Zuerlein kicked a game winning field goal with 5 seconds left to preserve the Jets win.[29]
The Jets finally ended a 15-game losing streak to the Patriots with their win, also finishing the season at 7–10 for the second consecutive season.[30] More significantly, they won what turned out to be their last match ever against theBill Belichick-led Patriots, as Belichick would part ways with the Patriots just four days later.
^abBuffalo claimed the No. 2 seed over Kansas City based on head-to-head victory.
^abBuffalo finished ahead of Miami in the AFC East based on head-to-head sweep.
^abCleveland claimed the No. 5 seed over Miami based on conference record.
^abCincinnati finished ahead of Jacksonville based on head-to-head victory. Division tie break was initially used to eliminate Indianapolis (see below).
^abJacksonville finished ahead of Indianapolis based on head-to-head sweep.
^abLas Vegas finished ahead of Denver based on head-to-head sweep.
^When breaking ties for three or more teams under the NFL's rules, they are first broken within divisions, then comparing only the highest ranked remaining team from each division.
